The teaching of key scientific topics such as evolution are imperative for scientific literacy, but educators face pressure to eliminate or downplay these topics due to perceived controversy. Although teachers usually bear the burden of ensuring that these topics are taught appropriately, some of this responsibility must also fall upon…

Computational thinking is a contemporary science and engineering practice that has been introduced to the US science classrooms due to its emphasis in the "Next Generation Science Standards" (NGSS). However, including computational thinking into science instruction may be challenging. Therefore, for biological evolution (an essential…

Evolution offers an intellectually satisfying and extremely well-supported explanation for the diversity of life in the natural world, its similarities and differences, how changes occur and how new life forms have developed. There are plenty of reasons to anticipate the teaching of evolution with exhilaration. In recent years, the issue of…

In this study, we investigated distinctions among the diversity of religious traditions represented by Lebanese and Egyptian Muslim high school students regarding their understanding and acceptance of biological evolution and how they relate the science to their religious beliefs. We explored secondary students' conceptions of evolution among…

Originally designed for K-12 teachers, the Understanding Evolution (UE) Web site ("www.understandingevolution.org") is a one-stop shop for all of a teacher's evolution education needs, with lesson plans, teaching tips, lists of common evolution misconceptions, and much more. However, during the past five years, the UE project team learned that…

Evolution curricula are replete with information about Darwin's theory of evolution as well as microevolutionary mechanisms underlying this process of change. However, other fundamental facets of evolutionary theory, particularly those related to macroevolution are often missing. One crucial idea typically overlooked is that of most recent common…

Biological evolution still lacks representation in school, especially below high school level. In order to find new implications that could help achieve significant improvement in teaching evolution, twelve expert interviews with both renowned researchers and experienced science teachers were conducted. Results of the comparison between the…

New science standards and reform recommendations spanning grades K--16 focus on a limited set of key scientific concepts from each discipline that all students should know. They also emphasize the integration of these concepts with science practices so that students learn not only the "what" of science but also the "how" and…

The present study is the first to investigate the relationships between a multiple set of paranormal beliefs and the acceptance of evolution, creationism, and intelligent design, respectively, in Europe. Using a questionnaire, 2,129 students at secondary schools in Vienna (Austria) answered the 26 statements of the Revised Paranormal Belief Scale…

In order to eliminate student misconceptions concerning biological evolution, it is important to identify their sources. The purposes of this study were to: (a) identify biological evolution-related misconceptions held by Oklahoma public high school Biology I teachers; (b) identify biological evolution-related misconceptions held by Oklahoma…

In his December editorial on Michael Reiss, Kenneth Tobin ("Cult Stud Sci Educ" 3:793-798, 2008), raises some very important questions for science and science teachers regarding science education and the teaching of creationism in the classroom. I agree with him that students' creationist ideologies should be treated not as misconceptions but as…

A variety of different arguments have been offered for teaching "both sides" of the evolution/ID debate in public schools. This article reviews five of the most common types of arguments advanced by proponents of Intelligent Design and demonstrates how and why they are founded on confusion and misunderstanding. It argues on behalf of teaching…

In this paper we present a schematic overview of the central concepts in evolutionary theory, setting them off against the background of widespread misconceptions about them. Our aim is to provide high school teachers with (1) an overview of those particular concepts that they can expect students to have difficulties with, (2) a comparison of…

Textbooks for GCE Advanced Level Biology have provided over-simplified and inaccurate accounts of Charles Darwin's contribution to the study of evolution over a period of many decades. They have credited him with field skills and insight that he did not possess, and repeated several historical inaccuracies. Darwin's strength was as a synthesiser…

Many science teachers recognize that teaching aspects of the history of science helps students learn science content and the nature of science (NOS). The use of history can potentially humanize science, help students refine their critical thinking skills, promote a deeper understanding of scientific concepts, and address common student…